Starting this weekend, the CTA will reroute Brown Line trains onto Red Line tracks during 13 weekends this year so work can be done to fix Brown Line track, according to the transit agency.
Rerouting Brown Line trains shouldn’t affect Red Line service, according to the CTA.
And once Brown Line track repairs are complete, two minutes will be shaved off the commute between the Merchandise Mart stop and the Armitage station in Lincoln Park, which are served by Brown Line and Purple Line Express trains. The CTA is aiming to eliminate more than two miles of slow zones, where trains operate as slow as 15 miles per hour because of track conditions.
“[The ride] is going to feel a little bit smoother as well,” CTA spokeswoman Tammy Chase said.
During the weekend-only reroutes, Brown Line trains will stop at all Red Line subway stations between the Fullerton stop in Lincoln Park and the Roosevelt stop in the South Loop.
For service to and from the Armitage, Sedgwick, Chicago and Merchandise Mart Brown Line stations on the North Side, free shuttle buses will operate between the Fullerton stop and the Clark/Lake stop in the Loop, making stops at or near the affected stations, Chase said.
A shuttle train will also operate around the Loop to connect Brown Line service in the subway to all Loop rail stations and to shuttle buses at the Clark/Lake stop.
Brown Line service between the Kimball stop, which is the end of the line for the Brown Line, and the Fullerton stop will not be affected, the CTA said. Service on the Purple Line Express, which shares track with the Brown Line during weekday rush hours, also will not be affected.
The reroutes, which will generally start at 8 p.m. on Fridays and last until 1:30 a.m. on Mondays, will begin this weekend and continue through the fall.
The CTA has announced 11 dates for weekend work through September and said it plans to announce the last two dates soon. Work will not occur during large-scale events and summer festivals including the Taste of Chicago, July 8-12, and Lollapalooza, July 31-Aug. 2, the CTA said.
The track project began in September 2013 and is expected to be finished by the end of this year, Chase said.
When Mayor Emanuel announced the project in 2012, it was supposed to cost $66 million and be done in 2014. Then the cost grew to $71.2 million in 2013. The cost is now $90 million because the project is complex, Chase said.
“There was a limited number of contractors that could do this work because it’s so specialized and custom. When the bids came in, we realized the project would cost more than we thought,” Chase said.
The project is being paid for with state and federal funds and CTA bonds, Chase said. Other capital projects are not being funded less to pay for the extra expense of this project, Chase said.
More than 40,000 riders take the Brown Line and Purple Line Express on an average weekday, the CTA said.
